Jogya Hotel

JOGJAKARTA PLAZA HOTEL
Jl. H. Affandi - Gejayan
Complex Colombo
Jogjakarta 55281
Indonesia

Jogjakarta Plaza Hotel is a unique International resort-styled hotel located in the city's university district . You will discover how the harmony between our distinctive low rise Javanese styled architecture combines with our warm hospitality.

Only minutes away you will find the Malioboro shopping arcades and Keraton. Just short distance out of town are Merapi Volcano, the tranquil beaches of the Indian Ocean, and the famous Buddhist and Hindu Temples, Borobudur and Prambanan.

Only 15 minutes from Adisucipto Airport, and Tugu Railway Station, Jogjakarta Plaza Hotel is an ideal new destination for leisure or even business. Whether you visit Jogjakarta for business or pleasure, remember Jogjakarta Plaza Hotel. The Jogjakarta Plaza represents a new breed of four-star hotel. Calm, comfortable surroundings, complemented by unmatched service and facilities.

Operating within a beautifully modern Javanese styled building, the Jogjakarta Plaza Hotel is all about new standards. By combining the best of old traditions and new excellent services, we are committed to the highest level of hospitality. Stay with us and you will experience real Indonesian hospitality.

Yogyakarta The Heart Of Java

Yogyakarta The Heart Of Java, Hotel, Tour

Yogyakarta / Jogyakarta special province (nowdays simply called Jogya) is relatively small narrow area, with its rich of tourist attractions. Visitor can find many kind of art works and cultural peformance, which are interesting and excellent.

According to the history, before 1755 Surakarta was the capital city of Mataram Kingdom.
After the The Treaty Of Gianti in 1755, Mataram was divided into two kingdoms; Surakarta Hadiningrat Sultanate (at Surakarta) and Ngayogyokarto Hadiningrat Sultanate (at Yogyakarta).

Following the treaty, Prince Mangkubumi the brother of Susuhunan Pakubuwono II, was crowned as the King of Ngayogyakarto Hadiningrat. He was then called Sultan Hamengku Buwono I.

As the center of Javanese art and culture, there are various kind of fascinating tourist attractions in Yogyakarta. That is the reason why people refer to Yogyakarta as the cradle of Javanese culture.

And for those who love mountainside, beaches or beautiful scenery, Yogyakarta also provides them with abundant numbers of sight. Related to above mentioned ancient cultural heritage, Yogyakarta is well known also as the center of culture, indicated by a great number of historical building and sites.


Savoring Appetite

Traditional Javanese food can be found in many places around in this city. The famous traditional food called Gudeg which containt boiled vegetables and jackfruit, eggs and chicken that cooked with coconut milk and Jati leaf. You can found Gudeg at many places in Yogyakarta. In the morning local people ussualy eat Pecel for breakfast, a traditional food which contain vegetables with chili nuts sauce. Bakmi Jawa is another traditional food similiar with chinese noodle but cooked with traditional system. The very popular Bakmi Jawa can found at around Alun-Alun (City Square)

Cafe and Restourant can be found at Yogyakarta very easily. In the night you can found many food stall in Malioboro street, they are open at the front of clossing shops. but to dine in this area, the visitors must be carefully ask the prices first for each food and drink.

Accomodation

As a tourist destination, Yogyakarta has a lot of hotels that easily be found in some places. There is many star hotels with various facilities. Visitor can choose the atmosphere, location and accomodation suitable for tourist budget. But for backpackers or visitor with middle budget you can find hotels and guest houses that quite cheap at Prawirotaman and Sosrowijayan Street. If you plan to stay for a long time you can negotiate the room rate. There are shops that provides tourist needs, such as money changer, internet booth, telecomunication booth and European food stall, mini market and so on.

taken from:www.jogyakarta.blogspot.com
raziey

Lake Toba, Sumatra

Danau Toba, or Lake Toba as we know it, is the largest lake in Southeast Asia. It was created by the eruption of a super volcano 75 thousand years ago. It is still surrounded by the crater edge of that volcano, and in the middle of the lake, volcanic activity created Samosir an island as big as Singapore. Attached to that island is a small peninsula, with the village of Tuktuk on it. This is the tourist destination of the area, where we enjoy the cool air, a dive in the lake, the relaxed atmosphere, and the local Batak culture.

Liberty of Lekjon

After the exciting bus and bemo ride to Parapat we meet Liberty. He tells us that the last ferry to Tuktuk leaves in an Hour. But not to worry, there is a small restaurant where we can eat something while Liberty tells us all about Tuktuk and his hotel Lekjon cottages. It appears that the ferry will drop us off at any hotel on Tuktuk we want, and since we like the leaflet of Lekjon, we decide to let us lead by Liberty.

In the dark the ferry brings us over lake Toba. It takes about half an hour during which we only see some lights and a small fire along the crater edge. The ferry stops at the bay next to the peninsula first, and then moves along the coastline to drop everybody at their desired destination. We see a lot of hotel names, but it is too difficult in the dark to see what they are like. Just in the middle of the peninsula is Lekjon, and we are easily convinced to at least spend one night here. We get a clean room, a warm shower, and a nice view for a low price, what else do we want?

At night we drink something in Lekjon’s restaurant. The personnel is friendly, and one of them starts playing the guitar. A few English guests know some songs, and Sabine also starts playing. It is a good start for our stay at Lake Toba, which promises to become a holiday during our world journey.

Where are the tourists et Lake Toba?

The next morning we make a walk around Tuktuk. Although Lekjon is okay, we like to know what alternatives are around. And we also like to explore the surroundings. We pass many hotels. Big ones, with large buildings, and small ones, with cosy cabins along lake Toba. Especially the big ones make a desolate impression, they seem to have almost no guests. And some of the small ones are closed all together, and so are many of the restaurants. It appears to us that lake Toba must have seen much more tourists in the recent past. Many stay away now because of September 11, and the independence struggle of Aceh in North Sumatra, not very far from Lake Toba.

The peninsula is larger than we expected. At different hotels we inspect the rooms, but it is all similar to Lekjon. We also stop at some souvenir shops. Many nice woodcarvings for low prices. The vendors are urging us to be something, they also feel the lack of tourists

To the market

In the afternoon we take the ferry across lake Toba back to Parapat. There is a market there, and we have to go there to get some money. This time we have a seat on top of the boat, and inspect the hotels again, this time from the water. There are a few that could not be seen from the road. It is clear that Hotel Carolina is the most fancy hotel on Tuktuk. Nice cabins in traditional Batak style, including cane roofs, and a private pool created in the lake.

The market of Parapat isn’t much of an attraction. We quickly find the ATM and go back to the ferry with a bemo. Parapat isn’t very interesting, but it is a pleasant town. There are some hotels here as well, but again only a few tourists.

Historic Ambarita

We decide to rent a few mountain bikes to explore Samosir island, the main island in Lake Toba to which Tuktuk is attached. The main road goes around the island, and we enjoy great views until we reach the historic town of Ambarita. We enter the wall around the historic center via a small gate. We have to fill in our names in a guestbook, and pay a small fee. We are the only tourists in here, and from the guestbook we learn there are not many visiting these days. We wonder how the personnel here can live from the fees. Then a guide comes along offering his services. He tells us we can decide for ourselves how much we pay him afterwards. Yeah, right.

There are a few traditional Batak houses in a nice row. Although they’re not that traditional, since they have tin roofs. But at least they have the traditional shape, that resembles the traditional shape of the Minangkabau houses, or these of the Toraja people in Sulawesi. They all had the horns of the water buffalo for inspiration. One of the houses doubles as a small museum and the guide explains some tools there. From his explanations, we only remembered the Batak calendar, so is wasn’t much.

Cannibalism at the old courtyard

Most important part of Ambarita is the old courtyard. Under an old tree are a number of stone chairs in a circle where the village elders held council. Criminals who were convicted with the death penalty were led to the execution yard 50 meters further. This is a larger circle with stone chairs, and a large boulder on which the convicted would be tortured to scare away the evil spirits. Then, the victim would be killed, beheaded, and cut in pieces. The heart and liver were eaten by the king and elders, and every witness had to eat something as well. The blood served as a drink for everybody.

We pay our guide, not surprised he asks for more, and move on to the souvenir street. Lots of stalls with woodcarvings and vendors who are desperate to sell something. And only 2 tourists (us) as their prey. But we carry very little money, so we have to disappoint them all. Another sad result of the tourist decline at Lake Toba.

Graves of Tomok

We hop on our bikes and follow the road to Tomok. Main attraction in this village is the grave of the king. Or actually there are more graves, and it is unclear to us which one is which. There are some stone figures around the graves, but no guide to explain things. A little further is a large doll on a stage. The story goes that a former king was so sad for the death of his son, that he ordered a dancing doll. The dancing of dolls became a tradition at funerals.

In Tomok are a lot of souvenir stalls as well. This time especially with clothes and other stuff. But again, no tourist around, and we are the only prey. So we don’t stay long, hop on our bikes and go back to Tuktuk, enjoying the views over Lake Toba.

Cinema

Tuktuk has its own cinema. An Englishman who lives here permanently, created a business with the copied video CD’s which are for sale everywhere in Southeast Asia. He has a large collection for rent, or you can watch them in a small room with large TV. We are watching “The Lord of the Rings” here. The copy was obviously made in an actual cinema: we can hear the laughter of the audience, and once in a while there is a shadow passing by. Amazing how the illegal copying industry works here.

In order to explore more of Samosir, we hire some motorbikes. After some instructions, we leave while the people shout at us to drive on the left side of the road, something we would already forgot. Easily we pass the many hills on our way to the first target: Samanindo. Here is a the Batak museum of Samosir located. After a little search, we find it just in time for an dance exhibition.

Batak dance

In front of an open terrain a more tourists are gathered than we saw in total the last couple of days. And in front of a scale model of a traditional Batak house are a group Batak people dancing. Well, dancing is a big word for the small movements they make. The program indicates multiple dances, but we see little variation. When some tourists join them, we hardly see a difference. And then a dancing doll enters the scene, making more moves than the dancers themselves. The tourists are supposed to give a donation to the doll, which is rewarded with a loud “Horas”. And that is the most exciting part of the exhibition.

The accompanying Batak museum isn’t much either. A little disappointed we hop pack on our motorbikes and move on. What amazes us most is that this place attracts most of the tourists around Lake Toba.

We move on along the outside of the island, passing many traditional houses, most of them with zinc roofs. Also many impressing grave towers, with on top of them a miniature traditional house.

Hot Springs

As we approach the other side of the island, the mainland comes in sight. A large white spot on the crater edge draws our attention. It almost seems like a ski trail, but we suppose it must be chalk or sand. A little later we arrive at the village where the island is connected to the main land by a small bridge. In fact, the bridge was only needed since the Dutch dug a canal to separate the island from the main land in 1906. We pass the bridge and drive up to search for our next goal: the hot springs. The closer we get, the more we realize the white spot is where we will find the hot springs.

The hot springs are accompanied by a number of restaurants and a large parking lot. But there are not many tourists. At one of the restaurants we park our motorbikes and order a meal. While we wait we see a little girl playing with to chicks, one of them bright yellow, the other bright green. Funny little animals, although it is sad that they probably have no mother and are obviously artificially colored.

After lunch we search for the hot springs. Every restaurant appears to have a bath of swimming pool fed with hot water from the springs, but we want to find the springs themselves. So we climb up, until we reach a restaurant that only lets us through if we order something. Here is a pool as well, but also a natural bath in the rocks. And as we climb up, we reach the actual source of the hot springs. In some kind of white moon landscape there is a stream of hot, yellow water. It is boiling up from the rocks, although we cannot see exactly where.

After a lovely, purifying, very hot bath, and a cola at the restaurant, we descend to our motorbikes. Although there is a market in the village we pass, we decide to go back to Tuktuk. It takes us two hours to go back, including a few stops for a beautiful view and a drink. We are back before dark, so we can cool off in the lake.

More Batak dance

That night there is a traditional dance performance in one of the restaurants of Tuktuk. We are convinced that there should be more to it than the slow motion dance we saw that morning, we decide to have a look. But what we see is even worse than that. Odd, since the traditional music sounds happy and dynamic.

After the dance there is a singing performance. Five men are putting all their energy in a few nice songs. Quite a contrast to the dance performance. The surprise is complete when the dancers invite the audience to swing with them. So they can actually dance enthusiastically, although it is not very traditional.

Woodcarving course

Having seen most of the sights around Lake Toba, we search for an alternative activity. We find a cooking course, but that one is a bit expensive. A woodcarving course, however, is cheap so we join a few souvenir makers. We get to pick something we like in order to try and copy it. After some instructions how to cut, we try for ourselves. Bit by bit our blocks of wood get some shape. Our teachers watch, adjust, and show how to continue.

Sabine’s mini mask is almost done. After sanding it, it can be polished and varnished. Patrick’s puppet takes a little longer, but after lunch, when our hands can be relieved from the cramps, it can be finished as well. Sabine has continued with carving her name, and begins with carving a guitar. Patrick tries a gecko. But then the fun is over. The leg of the gecko breaks, and the knife hits his hand. There is a lot of blood, but after binding it, it seems to be okay. But it is clear that we have not found a new occupation.

Tuktuk restaurants and hotels

Most of the evenings we dine at the restaurant of Lekjon. But we do want to try something different. So we walk the island, searching for nice restaurants. Around Lekjon are a few of them, but there are just a few people every where, And the further we walk, the sadder it gets. Many restaurants wait for the first guests of the evening, others are already closed. We do find one restaurant that draws more public. It is the Bamboo restaurant, with nice decoration (bamboo obviously), good food and nice music. According to Roy Bamboo, the owner, there are many guests every night. It seems to be the exception to the rule that business is bad around Lake Toba these days.

As we have seen and explored every aspect of Lake Toba it is time to move on. It was a nice relaxing week with nice activities. It is a pity that the locals are desperate because of the decline in number of tourists. Once, there were probably too many tourists, but too little is not good either, for the great destination that Lake Toba actually is .

taken from:http://www.adventure-travel-tales-and-tips.com

Follow our World Journey!! Next Stop: Bukit Lawang

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History of Aceh

Year by year

In 1292, Marco Polo, on his voyage from China to Persia visited Sumatra and reported that on the northern part of Sumatra there were as many as six trading ports including Ferlec, Samudera and Lambri. Islam is reported to have reached Aceh between the seventh and eighth centuries AD and the first Islamic kingdom, Perlak was established in 804 AD. Then followed Samudera Pasai in 1042, Tamiah in 1184, Aceh in 1205 and Darussalam in 1511. In this year the Portuguese captured Malacca and many Asian and Arabic traders sought to avoid the Malacca Strait and called instead on Aceh's port, bringing wealth and prosperity. Aceh's dominance in trade and politics in northern parts of Sumatra began, reaching a climax between 1610 and 1640. With the death of Sultan Iskandar Thani in 1641, Aceh's decline began. The British and Dutch both started to vie for influence. In 1824 the London Treaty was signed, giving the Dutch control over all British possessions in Sumatra in return for a Dutch surrender of their establishments in India and an abrogation of all claims on Singapore.

Summary of Aceh important dates in its history (1520- early 1600)

Rise of Aceh clearly demonstrates impact of Islam and trade in contestation with Europeans. Portuguese efforts to intervene in Pasai and Pidie, and takeover of Melaka across the straits, drove elements interested in Islam, commerce, or local patriotism to unite in support of Aceh's Sultan Ali Mughayat Syah.

1520s

Sultan worked to unite the north Sumatran coast into a new and explicitly anti-Portuguese kingdom; ideological identity and authority of Aceh competed directly with Portuguese Melaka as center of Islamic spice route. (Similarly, Banten in western Java emerged as an Islamic kingdom in competition with the Hindu port of Sunda Kelapa, ruled by a Portuguese ally.)

1534–38

Ottoman expansion (first to Egypt, Syria, and the Hejaz in 1516–17, then to Iraq in 1534–35) provided new military defense of Muslim spice-trading route in the Indian Ocean. First Ottoman fleet to combat the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean was launched by the governor of Egypt in 1537–38; this failed.

1560s

Establishment of direct commercial and diplomatic relations between Ottomans and Aceh; this led to concept of pan-Islamic counter-crusade against the Portuguese in Southeast Asia (e.g., 1566 petition for assistance, sent from sultan of Aceh to Ottoman sultan).

1560–1580s

High point for Islamic military success in Southeast Asia.

Early 1600s

Evidence that Shari'a courts in use in Aceh, to apply Islamic law in enforcing precepts relating to prayer, fasting, and religious orthodoxy and to deal with civil matters of debt, marriage, divorce, and inheritance as well as criminal matters of theft, drunkenness, and so on. Introduction of the kadi (law officer, an important figure in urban governance) dates from the 1580s. A number of Islamic leaders, from various parts of the archipelago, centered in Aceh during the 17th century, writing voluminously on religious topics both in Arabic and Malay. The last great mystic was ‘Abd al-Ra'uf of Singkel, born around 1615. After studying in the Middle East, he returned to Aceh, served the sultan as secretary, and wrote widely on law and religion. His fame as a religious reformer spread widely, before and after his death sometime following 1693. (See The Malayan Archipelago, 1798–1908)

Summary of Aceh important dates in its history (1816-1942)
Also referred to as Atjeh, Achin. An Islamic sultanate located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra, at times controlling land on both sides of the Malacca Straits. Its strategic location gave it political importance

In 1816/1824 the Dutch and British agreed on delimitation of their mutual spheres of influence in the Malay Archipelago; Aceh was allocated to neither of them. In the Sumatra Treatise of 1871, Britain conceded Aceh to the Netherlands, in return for Dutch concessions regarding Sarawak/North Borneo and on the Gold Coast.

1831 - U.S. ships, the Potomac Fleet, under the order of US President Andrew Jackson and without the approval of the US Congress, shell coastal villages in Aceh in an action against "piracy" (Acehnese pepper trade dispute with businesses tied to Governor of Massachussetts). In 1832 (Quallah Battoo) and in 1838/1839 US troops landed in Aceh (Quallah Battoo, Muckie) to protect US interests. Quallah Battoo (Kuala Bate) is located between the town of Meulaboh and Tapak Tuan, near the area where the US Marines landed to help Aceh Tsunami's victims.

1852 - Aceh sends an emissary to Napoleon III of France.

1854 - Aceh establishes authority over Langkat, Deli and Serdang on east coast of Sumatra ("pepper ports").

1858 - Dutch take Siak in north Sumatra by treaty, and move troops in to prevent British adventurers from gaining a foothold there. The boundary of Siak is defined to include Langkat and Deli, infringing on Acehnese territory.

1869 - Aceh appeals to the Ottoman Empire for protection. In 1869, the Suez Canal opened, which greatly reduced the travel time and effort between Europe and Asia by sea, and gave places such as Aceh much more strategic importance.

1870 - Sultan Mahmud Syah rules Aceh until 1874.

1871 - November Treaty of Sumatra between British and Dutch: Dutch give Gold Coast to British; Dutch may send contract labor from India to Dutch Guinea; Dutch get free hand in Sumatra, British and Dutch both have trade rights in Aceh. Effect of this treaty: there is no more foreign objection to the Dutch taking Aceh.

1873 - January 25 Emissary from Aceh holds talks with the American consul in Singapore, but help was rejected by Washington. The Dutch respond with war. March 26 Dutch bombard Banda Aceh. April 8 Dutch land troops at Banda Aceh. April 25 Acehnese force the Dutch to withdraw. The Sultan of Aceh sensed the imminent danger and sent a delegation to Singapore, where they contected the consuls of Italy and the US (for a possible protectorate, 1873). The Dutch regarded this as the "Treason of Singapore" and declared war. The first Dutch attempt to conquer Aceh failed in 1873

1874 - Holland attack Sultanate of Aceh and the Kraton (capital, called Koetaradja by the Dutch) was occupied and the Sultanate formally annexed. The Dutch controlled only the area around Koetaradja; most of the territory remained unoccupied, and the Acehnese continued to resist. January 24 Acehnese abandon Banda Aceh and retreat to the hills. Dutch announce that Sultanate of Aceh is ended. Sultan Mahmud Syah of Aceh dies in the jungle; Sultan Ibrahim Mansur Syah heads sultanate in hills until 1907. Teuku Umar of the Acehnese nobility leads the Acehnese forces. The Dutch strategy of occupying the political center had failed; the resistance continued (2nd Acehnese War 1874-1880, 3rd Acehnese War 1884-1886, 4th Acehnese War since 1888). In 1882, the population of Aceh was calculated as 479,419 (Meyers). Advised by scholar Snouck Hugronje, the Dutch army, under Lt. VAN HEUTSZ, adopted a new strategy of brutal repression. In 1903 the Acehnese Sultan POLIM surrendered; only in 1908 were the Dutch able to establish control over the area; guerilla resistance continued. The wars leading to the conquest and pacification of Aceh (1873-1908) have cost an estimated 10,000 Dutch and 100,000 Acehnese fatalities.

1878 - Expedition under Gen. Van der Heijden burns 500 villages in Aceh to the ground. Teungku Cik di Tiro, an Islamic ulama, starts leading the resistance in Aceh.

1884 - Guerilla war heats up in Aceh. Dutch build "Geconcentreerde Linie" in Aceh: a series of 16 forts designed to contain guerillas. Many of the common soldiers Dutch-led troops in the Netherlands Indies forces were not Dutch, but were recruited from Java, Sulawesi, and other parts of Indonesia.

1896 - Dutch go on attack against guerillas in Aceh with special forces (Korps Marechaussee).

1898 - Van Heutsz becomes Dutch Governor of Aceh. His advisor Snouck Hurgronje introduces "Korte Verklaring", a short treaty recognizing Dutch rule, to replace older complicated agreements with local rulers; Dutch pursue alliance with uleebalangs against Islamic leaders. June Van Heutsz sends a successful Dutch expedition against Pidie, Aceh.
1899 - Teuku Umar is killed during a Dutch ambush.

1903 - Sultan of Aceh, Tuanku Daud Syah, surrenders to the Dutch, but keeps secret contact with guerillas

1904 - Van Heutsz, recently military Governor of Aceh, becomes Governor-General (until 1909). An expedition under Capt. Van Daalen to the uplands of Aceh kills over 3000 villagers, including over 1000 women and children.

1905 - Acehnese resistance contacts Japanese consul in Singapore for help.

1907 - Aceh guerillas attack Dutch in Banda Aceh

1910 - Islamic resistance in Aceh is decimated. Uleebalangs, or traditional aristocracy of Aceh take charge. The Uleebalangs would develop a reputation for collaborating with the Dutch; after World War II, many Uleebalangs were massacred.

1942 - Aceh resistance overthrew Dutch rules in Aceh and began helping Indonesian Independence movement and resistance in Java island. .......
Dec 26, 2005 - 9.0 Earthquake and Tsunami destroyed Banda Aceh, Meulaboh and all coastal towns in Aceh, killing over 170,000 people and displaced over 550,000 people.
www.aceh.net/mosques.html

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Nias

Stage Stone

amazing art from stones

A long time ago Nias Island possessed a prehistoric megalithic culture, also known as the stone ages, where the people lived with guidance from stone figures.

Their social statues are measured by placing big stone figurines within the compound of their homes. Interestingly, their megalithic background is known to be the oldest form of culture in Indonesia as published by Rumbi Mulia, an Indonesian archeologist in his book.

Remains of the historic figures still stand in the distric of Gomo. However, these figures are in dire conditions as no form of conservation or preservation have been given; some stones have even been stolen, especially from the province of Gomo.

If you want to see by yourself, the Nias megalithic stones that are listed as the oldest megalithic in Indonesia, Gomo district is the place. It is a 101 km drive from Gunungsitoli city to Gomo and 56 km from Teluk Dalam. From Orahili to Tundrumbaho is about 4 km, but enjoy a 700 m hiking to reach the intended destination. Through your journey there, you can also visit many traditional houses at that area and learn more about the local's way of life in this beautiful panoramic islands.

“Feta Batu” made from the stones from prehistoric ages. Currently, the instrument Feta Batu is owned by traditional musician Hikayat Mana-er who resides in the village of Bawömataluo.

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Nias

Ono Niha
Niasans call themselves ONO NIHA, meaning PEOPLE'S CHILDREN and they call their island TANO NIHA meaning THE LAND OF PEOPLE, which makes Nias Island what it is today. According to legend, the word NIAS originate from the word NIHA SI, There was once a time foreigners reached a beach near the territories of Teluk Dalam. Therefore the locals talk about these foreigners among their neighbours, calling them NIHA SI, meaning foreigners who come to their land. Thus, the foreigners hear this saying as NIAS. A long time ago Nias Island possessed a prehistoric megalithic culture, also known as the stone ages, where the people lived with guidance from stone figures. Their social statues are measured by placing big stone figurines within the compound of their homes. Interestingly, their megalithic background is known to be the oldest form of culture in Indonesia as published by Rumbi Mulia, an Indonesian archeologist in his [Photo] book. Its unique history appears to have no influence with any other culture, whether it be Hinduism, Islam or Buddhism, as established by Prof. Dr James Dananjaya, an anthropologist from the University of Indonesia. Also, it has been stated that the culture of Nias has been established since the Bronze ages in the book: "Manusia dan Kebudayaan Indonesia" (The people and the culture of Indonesia), this book was published in 1970 by Prof Dr Kuntjaraningrat, the first anthropologist in Indonesia.

The great Megalithic times of Nias are still preserved and this distinctive trait captures the world’s attention. Its unique stone carvings and other forms of traditional pieces are found in museums all over the world, especially in European museums ( Tropenmuseum - Amsterdam, Museum fur Volkerkunde - Basel, Kon. Musea voor schone Kunsten Musees Royaux d’Art et d’Histoire - Brussels, Rautenstrauch Joes Museum - Cologne, Volkenkundig Museum Nusantara - Delft, Museo Nationale di Anthropologia et Etnologia - Florence, Algemeen Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde - Rotterdam, Museum fur Volkerkunde - Vienna, Vereinigte Evangelische Mission - Wuppertal ). Fortunately, these historical artifacts are now exhibited in Museum Pusaka Nias, Gunungsitoli for both locals and tourists to learn and understand about the past social life of the Nias people.

taken from nias tourismboard.com
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